When Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick sat down with Under 21s boss Adam Lawrence to map out his squad for this week’s first-team training camp in Ireland, there was lots to consider.
The Under 21s host Real Madrid in a Premier League International Cup quarter-final on Tuesday, then take on Newcastle United in the final round of the Premier League 2, before the play-offs begin. It’s a massive week for the youngsters.
Carrick has been keen to allow those teams to thrive, with Lawrence revealing last week that his messaging around the pathway for academy players is ‘really good’ – something that certainly wasn’t always true of his predecessor Ruben Amorim.
It means that Carrick gave the green light for Lawrence to retain Shea Lacey – who has recently been promoted to training with the first team full time – as well as Chido Obi – more on the first-team radar in recent weeks – for Tuesday’s clash against Real at Old Trafford.
But Carrick was keen to add some youth to a 25-man squad that doesn’t contain veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton, nor defenders Diogo Dalot (ill) or Matthijs de Ligt (injured).
In the end, five youth-team players got the nod to pack their bags for Carton House in Kildare, with the chance to make a lasting impression in front of Carrick, his staff, and the rest of the first-team squad this week. Here’s everything you need to know about them.
Dermot Mee
Age: 23 Position: Goalkeeper Country: Northern Ireland
Dermot Mee is always chipper around the training ground and particularly close with United captain Bruno Fernandes
Something of an elder statesman in the youth set-up at 23 years old, Mee is a valuable piece of the jigsaw at United, more than perhaps fans realise.
While his own playing time is slim, he is hugely popular with both Senne Lammens and No 2 Altay Bayindir and his role as a training goalkeeper is internally seen as crucial in developing the starters. Mee, who played rugby when he was young, is always chipper around the training ground and particularly close with United captain Bruno Fernandes.
He is often the keeper that agrees to go in goal when first-team stars want to practise their penalty-kicks. When Mee was first promoted to the senior squad, he bet Fernandes he could save two out of five kicks from the Portuguese, and asked for a signed shirt in reward. He failed, but still got the shirt from Fernandes, and the two have been close ever since.
Alongside his current role, Mee is continuing with a football and business management degree from the University of Portsmouth, which is arranged in conjunction with the PFA.
‘I don’t have the stresses to play and perform, as such, so it’s an opportunity to still develop myself, as a person as well,’ said the former Northern Ireland youth international.
Fred Heath
Age: 18 Position: Goalkeeper Country: England
Shrewsbury-born goalkeeper Heath has never played above Under 18s level but got the nod after Heaton’s illness. The second-year scholar is a huge presence at 6ft 5in, and four days working alongside No 1 Lammens is expected to be hugely beneficial in his development.
The youngster has struggled to get his career off the ground thus far, failing to play at all in the 2024-25 season.
But having started four of the past seven Under 18s league games for Darren Fletcher, with United winning all four, he will hope to impress his coaches – as well as scouts at clubs lower down the pyramid ahead of a potential loan move in the summer.
Second-year scholar Fred Heath is a huge presence at 6ft 5in, and four days working alongside No 1 Senne Lammens is expected to be hugely beneficial in his development
Yuel Helafu
Age: 17 Position: Right back Country: England
The youngest player heading to Ireland is full back Helafu, who has had one of the most accelerated rises in United’s academy in the past 12 months.
Helafu loves to invert into midfield from right back in the mould of Trent Alexander-Arnold or Reece James, and got a taste of first-team training back in September last year, just after his 17th birthday. The first-year scholar was fast-tracked up to the Under 21s the following month, making his debut at Barnsley in the EFL Trophy.
Drafted in by Carrick after Dalot’s withdrawal, Helafu is deceptively strong despite his wiry frame, while his versatility appeals to coaches too, given he can also play on the left side like Dalot.
This will be an invaluable camp for a player that is likely to get a full season with the Under 21s next year before any consideration is given to a loan move away.
The youngest player heading to Ireland is full back Yuel Helafu, who has had one of the most accelerated rises in Manchester United’s academy in the past 12 months
Jim Thwaites
Age: 18 Position: Defensive midfield Country: England
A real diamond in the academy and one who can make the argument of being the best set-piece taker in youth football right now. Thwaites made a lasting impression on Amorim and his staff during the post-season tour last summer and now he can do likewise for Carrick and Co in Ireland.
Thwaites can play both as a No 6 or as a No 8 and while he has a little prior experience of first-team training, this is a rare opportunity for the youngster to spend time learning at close quarters from Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.
Stylistically he is much more European than others United have in central midfield. He is slight in stature but not easily bullied in possession. He has also shown greater leadership qualities this season having been challenged to be captain on occasion by Under 18s boss Darren Fletcher.
United staff are eager not to pigeon-hole the 18-year-old as one specific type of midfielder and while there is a queue ahead of him to get minutes with the Under 21s – the Fletcher brothers, Jayce Fitzgerald and Jack Moorhouse, all of whom are older – Thwaites has the chance to make his case for involvement next season.
Thwaites can play both as a No 6 or as a No 8 and this is a rare opportunity for the youngster to spend time learning at close quarters from Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo
Victor Musa
Age: 19 Position: Striker Country: England
Victor Musa (left) has been held back by injuries and has seen peers surpass him, either by going out on loan or playing ahead of him for the Under 21s
A player that grabbed headlines last season when he scored a double hat-trick in a 13-1 win over Leeds United, Musa is something of an enigma at United.
The 19-year-old has been held back by injuries and has seen peers surpass him, either by going out on loan or playing ahead of him for the Under 21s. United staff also felt a report in Spain that likened him to Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal was unhelpful, adding unnecessary pressure.
Sheffield Wednesday explored a possible loan for Musa, who can play centrally or out wide and scored 16 goals in 18 games in the Under-18 Premier League last season, but it never materialised.
He has started just seven times in the 2025-26 season and United will hope spending time training alongside Benjamin Sesko can ignite a campaign that still has plenty left in it for Musa, with those Premier League 2 play-offs on the horizon.
With scouts surrounding United’s academy games right now, it’s imperative Musa takes every opportunity to put himself in the shop window for a loan that can kickstart his senior career.
